Roaring Lion Fire is 20 % Contained – Saturday Morning

The Roaring Lion Fire south of Hamilton is now 20 percent contained, according to the Incident Command report Saturday morning, August 6.

The fire has burned 8,249 acres and crews have added two more homes that were burned. The homes were burned earlier in the week, but the area had been inaccessible until Friday. Fire managers said that no structures were destroyed since the first day of the fire.

Stage 2 Evacuation remains in effect for the area south of North Gold Creek to Hayes Creek on the south and west of Highway 93. Lost Horse Road is in Stage 1 Evacuation warning, according to Ravalli County undersheriff Steve Holton.

Holton reported that Friday evening the Stage 2 evacuation on the west end of Roaring Lion Road was rolled back to Stage 1 warning. That includes Moraine Drive, Judd Creek Hollow and Springhill Road. Roaring Lion Road is open west of Westside Road by permit only to residents.

Those returning to their homes in burned areas should be careful. Trees with burned roots are unstable and could fall with or without windy conditions.

For more information about evacuations, contact the Ravalli County Emergency Operations Center at (406) 375-6650.

The possibility of thunderstorms and wind this weekend could cause the fire to burn on ridge tops and down the southern slopes, the report concluded.

For you number-crunchers, over 34,000 gallons of retardant have been dropped by fixed wing aircraft on the fire and over 1 million gallons of water have been dropped by helicopters. The estimated cost of fighting the fire is now over $4 million.

There are 862 people on the Roaring Lion fire, nine helicopters, 53 engines, 17 water tenders and five dozers.